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Is Old Man Saban growing soft as he reaches 72?

Started by jbcarol, October 25, 2021, 05:18:53 pm

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jbcarol

Saban tells Alabama players to enjoy this one
Bryce Lazenby | 9 minutes ago



QuoteSaban was thrilled after his team got the victory over the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday. Many Alabama players noted that this game was "personal" due to the team's defeat in Knoxville last season.

The Tide ended up escaping with a 34-20 win in the rivalry game and improved to 5-0 in conference play and 7-1 overall.
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jbcarol

Saban: 'Not to say that they're taking years off my life, but I'm okay with that'



QuoteAlabama remained undefeated in conference play this weekend defeating Tennessee 34-20 to remain atop the SEC West division standings.

The Crimson Tide haven't displayed the high level of dominance fans have become accustomed to seeing in years past, but the results they've been producing versus SEC opponents this season is hard to deny.

After the game, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban was asked about his team's continued improvement throughout the season and ability to battle through adversity, which seems to have been a little bit more stressful than Saban is used to in years past at the helm.

"Oh I love it, it's been great," Saban said. "The challenges are great, I enjoy coaching this team, that's not to say that they're taking years off of my life, but I'm okay with that."

The 71-year-old Saban hasn't shown a sign of slowing down anytime throughout his coaching career that started in 1973, but this year's Alabama has definitely been pushing the envelope regarding stressful moments.

The now jovial coach turns 72 on Halloween.
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jbcarol

Milroe shares how Nick Saban has changed in 2023



Quote"He's instilled his confidence into us," Milroe said, via Read and React on SEC Network."With all the team meetings he had, one-on-ones he had with players, he has great confidence in all of us. Also, what he does well is he gets everybody on the same page as far as his messages. And then motivating everybody to acknowledge that we have short-term goals and long-term goals we all want to accomplish here.

"I think he's doing a great job and just how great coach is, he touches each of the players he has on the team."

Finebaum: 2023 is 'one of the most incredible seasons' of Nick Saban's coaching career
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jbcarol

Saban finally explains why he stopped drinking


QuoteSaban has made a point of saying he doesn't actually smoke the traditional victory cigar when Alabama beats Tennessee, but merely "chews on it for a while."

However, during Saban's weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN on Thursday, the Crimson Tide coach was also asked if he drinks alcohol of any kind. He said that he did not and gave an interesting answer as to why.

"No drinks," Saban said. "I used to drink. When we had kids and my kids were growing up, I decided I didn't want to set that kind of example for them. So I just quit drinking, and it's probably the best thing I ever did. Never had a hangover. I just don't do it."
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jbcarol

Nick Saban talks ideal birthday gift and previews Alabama-LSU rivalry



Quote--When asked about a birthday gift, Saban turns 72 on Tuesday, he said his best gift would be a solid team performance on Saturday. Saban joked that when you get older, birthdays that line up near holidays or during football season don't get as celebrated.
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jbcarol

Alabama Athletics
@UA_Athletics
A real Halloween treat! Happy birthday to the 🐐🎃

#RollTide |
@AlabamaFTBL


4:32 PM · Oct 31, 2023
·
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jbcarol

Why does Saban have a bloodshot eye? 'Yelling too much' :hmmm:


QuoteSaban looked rough. When he took the podium for his Wednesday press conference after practice, the Alabama football coach's right eye looked completely bloodshot.

During his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show Thursday, Saban said he didn't know what had happened. He addressed the eye problem again during his weekly radio show later on Thursday.

"It looks like I've been in a gang fight and my gang didn't show," Saban joked to host Eli Gold and media guest Brad Nessler.

Saban said the eye didn't hurt, but after practice Thursday, he had a chat with Alabama's team doctor, who asked if he had been coughing. Saban said he hadn't been.

Then, the doctor gave a hypothesis that made sense to the coach.

"He said, 'You know you can get this from yelling,'" Saban said. "...He said, 'You got it from yelling, there's nothing wrong with you, you just got it from yelling. You busted a blood vessel in your eye from yelling too much.'"

Saban and his staff have been trying to prepare Alabama for its Saturday matchup with LSU at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will have massive repercussions in the race for the SEC West

or Pink Eye.
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jbcarol

Scarblog: Nick Saban burst a blood vessel in his eye coaching this team.

Is that how he defines content :hmmm:



QuoteIs that good enough for you, coach?

There was a time when that kind of question would detonate Nick Saban, even in the glow of a victory as significant as Alabama 42, LSU 28, with unprocessed emotion swirling inside and all around, because nothing has ever seemed good enough for the unrepentant perfectionist.

After his first national championship with LSU, while the party pulsated elsewhere in the team's New Orleans hotel, Saban fretted in his suite that agents might be preying on his players at that very moment. Concerns of what he would do for an encore also intruded on his enthusiasm.

After his first big ring at Alabama, he looked like he wanted to strangle the players who bonked him with the Gatorade bucket, turning his shirt pink and his eyes red.

A regular-season victory that clinched nothing? Good enough for him? This time with this team, four days after his 72nd birthday, reminded by CBS sideline reporter Jenny Dell that his wish had been "a solid team performance," it was.
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jbcarol

Sign O' the Times :hmmm:

Nick Saban now co-owns 2 Florida Mercedes dealerships in deal reportedly worth nearly $700M

Creg Stephenson



QuoteSaban's Dream Motor Group has expanded into south Florida with the purchase of two Mercedes Benz dealerships in a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to multiple reports.

Saban and his partners, including CEO Joe Agresti, recently completed the purchase of Mercedes Benz of Coral Gables and Mercedes Benz of Cutler Bay, which are both in the Miami area. AutomotiveNews.com put the total deal — which also included an auto repair shop and a former police headquarters — at more than $650 million.

Saban has been an investor in luxury car dealerships for many years, with Dream Motor Group already the owner of two Mercedes locations in Birmingham, one in Baton Rouge, one in Nashville and another in the Houston area. Saban's son, Nicholas, is part of the management team at Mercedes Benz of Birmingham.

Dream Motor Group also owns Infiniti of Birmingham and Prancing Horse of Nashville, a Ferrari dealership. Saban's much-publicized "vacation" to Italy this past spring was in part a business trip involving his Ferrari interests.

Saban's Mercedes dealerships have had at least one celebrity customer in recent months. Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins, a Montgomery native and the 2022 SEC Freshman of the Year, told reporters in July he purchased a new car from Mercedes Benz of Birmingham after signing a lucrative NIL deal with the school.
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jbcarol

She likes a firm hand :hmmm:

Saban finally shares that he had to 'straighten out' Miss Terry after LSU game
Andrew Peters | 2 minutes ago


Quote"I had to straighten her out this week with relief syndrome, too," Saban said. "I wake up on Sunday morning, and she looks at me and says, 'Man, it's gonna be hard playing at Auburn.' I said, 'What are you talking about? Are you kidding me? ..."

She had been vocal earlier about needing to see the opposing QB taken out like KJ last season. Blood lust.
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jbcarol

Saban addresses coaching turnover across his many years in the SEC
Andrew Peters | 5 minutes ago



QuoteSaban has seen plenty of coaches come in go during his time in the SEC.

This week, Saban saw 2 more coaches exit as Texas A&M's Jimbo and Mississippi State's Zach Arnett were fired. While he knows that college football is business, seeing his fellow coaches get fired is never easy (he especially wanted Arnett to stay on).

"I get to meet a lot of coaches. I go to SEC Media Day and we go to SEC meetings, there's a lot of new guys in the room," Saban said during the SEC coaches teleconference on Wednesday. "I enjoy developing relationships with all of them. I hate to see anybody — I know how hard guys work to try to develop and build a program and how difficult it can be sometimes to try to get everybody on board to try to do things you need to do to do that.

"You need the support of a lot of people to be able to do it," Saban said. "Obviously it's too bad when those things don't work out and people can't stay together to try to build something positive."

Saban will be looking for that support to fall back on as Tide prep to face Chattanooga.
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jbcarol

Saban self-diagnoses himself as 'OCD,' reveals when he allows for extra Little Debbie

By Mark Heim |



QuoteSaban is all about routine. It's what helps him focus.

It is that same focus he expects his Alabama Crimson Tide to have Saturday when it hosts Chattanooga. On Thursday, during his appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Saban was asked how he keeps his team ready for opponents who are deemed "trap games."

Cue the routine.

"I stay focused this way all the time because I try to prepare with a certain routine every day," he said. "I get up every day. I let the dog out. I have a cup of coffee. I get two Little Debbie cookies. That's how I start. I shower and shave. Same thing when I got to work every day. Routine sort of helps people stay in the moment. That's what I try to focus on and that's what I try to get our players to focus on.

"Your character shouldn't be affected by someone else's opinion. Your competitive character shouldn't be affected by that either.

"Back when I was growing up, they didn't have such things as obsessive-compulsive personalities that like to do the same things and the same routines all the time and have things in a certain order," he said. "But I'm sure, if I got diagnosed, that would probably be the ... (OCD).

"Every day," he said of his routine. "We don't take Sundays off, not during the season at least. That's probably one of the most challenging days for you as a college coach. You have to clean up the last game, grade the last game, make corrections, then you got to start on the next opponent so you can at least make those corrections with the players on Monday and start to install a new game plan for the next opponent.

"Sunday is a really difficult day for us," he said with a smile. "I might even eat a little extra Debbie in the morning."

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jbcarol

An in-game swear jar for Nick Saban? 'Might need to get a loan from Miss Terry'

By Matt Stahl |



QuoteSaban is trying to better himself. According to a recent story from ESPN, Alabama football players noted that he was cursing too much in meetings, and the head coach implemented a $5 penalty on himself for each cuss word.

On his radio show Thursday, Saban was asked about the swear jar. He said players are pushing to expand the punishments even further.

"It's costing me," Saban said. "What the players are campaigning for, which I have not given into as of yet, but it would make me a better person if I would do it, is they want me to pay for any swearing on the field."

That one could be trickier for Saban. While he's not as bombastic as he once was on the sideline, he can still get hot, as demonstrated in this year's Mississippi State game.

He joked that he'd need to request money from his wife, Terry Saban.

"That would be very costly," Saban said, pausing to laugh. "I might need to get a loan from Miss Terry on that one."

Saban and the Crimson Tide will be back in action on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium

The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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jbcarol

How will Coach Saban react to back-up QB nearly completing a 79-yard run and dropping the ball at the 1 yard line

By Creg Stephenson |



QuoteYou might have expected Nick Saban to erupt at Simpson on the sideline following his mental error, but the Alabama coach stayed calm. He did refuse to make eye contact with Simpson, who dropped his head after the official ruling that the touchdown didn't count.

Saban was asked about the play in his post-game press conference. He seemed non-plussed by Simpson's lapse in judgment.

"I mean do I have to comment on that?," Saban said. "Every coach says cross the goal line and hand the ball to the official."

Luckily for Simpson, officials ruled that no one for Chattanooga attempted to recover the ball after it rolled dead. Thus, Alabama was given the ball on the 1-yard and running back Richard Young scored on the next play.

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jbcarol

First and 10: It's time to tell the truth about every SEC team
Matt Hayes |



QuoteAlabama would be lost without Milroe.

How many times have we heard talking heads pontificate about "the great coaching job" Nick Saban has done this season at Alabama?

The same Saban who benched his best quarterback because of a 10-point home loss to Texas, then refused to play him a week later out of spite — because Milroe wasn't happy about being benched — and nearly lost to lowly USF in the process.

I'm not minimizing the greatest coach in college football history, I'm emphasizing a strong-willed, talented and mentally tough player who worked through some tough early times this season to become 1 of the best players in the SEC.

Milroe has accounted for 31 TDs, and more important, is the reason the Tide are 2 wins from returning to the Playoff.
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jbcarol

Scarblog: Last ride on the Plains for Saban?

He probably will not miss the place.



QuoteThe question came out of the blue, which isn't unusual when Wimp Sanderson is doing the asking. One minute during our weekly Tuesday morning radio visit on Tide 100.9 in Tuscaloosa, we were discussing College Football Playoff possibilities. Next thing I knew, he threw me a curve.

"In your opinion, behind the scenes, is this Nick Saban's last year?"

Hello.

If you know Wimp, you know he knows things. He knows things because he knows people. Not just at Alabama, where he coached for 32 years, the last 12 as head coach. And not just in basketball, which he coached better for longer than anyone else in the program's history.
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jbcarol

Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

jbcarol

Nick Saban: A CFP without the SEC would be disrespectful to the league
Paul Harvey | 45 minutes ago


QuoteNick Saban knows the SEC is not your average football league. Despite being the pre-eminent conference in the country, the idea of the SEC getting left out of the College Football Playoff has come up this season.

The only way that could happen is if Alabama — currently No. 8 in the committee's rankings — beats No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.

"Well, I think I commented on it earlier. To reiterate it, I think that the SEC is one of the best conferences in the country. I think Georgia is one of the best teams in the country," said Saban. "I think they're one of the best four teams in the country. I think if we beat them, we'd be one of the best four teams in the country.

"With teams, there's a transformation that goes through the season. How are you playing now. Where is your team now. How good are you now," Saban explained. "I think all those things come into play.

"I think it would be a disrespect to the SEC if there isn't an SEC representation in the final four. I do believe that."
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jbcarol

Saban finally shares how he and Miss Terry celebrate wins

Wade Peery


QuoteOn the Thursday evening edition of the, "Hey Coach Show with Nick Saban", the legendary football coach opened up a bit and shared how he and his wife, Miss Terry, celebrate the big wins for Alabama football.

What does the 24 hour rule look like for Saban after a big win?

"(Laughs). You know, you put me on the spot here. I think you should ask her," Saban began.

"Anyway. We always enjoy the time we spend together. We don't get very much time to spend. Obviously, when you don't have success it's not much fun. But when we do, we enjoy it. We actually have an enjoyable ride home. We have a favorite song that we listen to. We usually talk a little bit about the game and some of the things that happened in the game. And maybe things that, you know, we could've done differently, or whatever," the legendary football coach said.

"And then, we usually just do something to try to take our mind off of it. Sometimes we watch football games a little bit. If we played in the daytime and there's some on at night. And then, when we get sick of that, which doesn't take me long sometimes after all week. We'll watch something on Netflix and she's responsible for that. She picks that out. So, Netflix, Amazon, or whatever, so.

"You know, the thing that amazes me about this, is we watch some of these shows sometimes and it takes us a long time because I only watch like one episode, maybe, a night. When I get home at 10 o'clock or whatever. But, you know, we have to read the captions or whatever they call them. Yeah. The subtitles. Because, it's a foreign language. And Terry keeps saying, 'Turn it up. I can't hear it.' (Laughs). I mean, what are we doing here?" Saban laughed.
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jbcarol

Is Saban texting now :hmmm:

By Creg Stephenson |




QuoteSaban's infamously technology-averse, but it seems he's finally embracing one facet of communication that has become second-nature for most.

72-year-old Alabama football coach has often claimed he does not communicate via text message, though it appears that has changed. Georgia coach Kirby Smart, Saban's most-decorated protégé, let the news slip.

"I think he's opened up a little more as he's gotten more friendly," Smart said in answer to a question about his relationship with Saban. "He even texted me back for the first time ever this year."

Wait — Saban is texting?

"I learned how to text simple," Saban said. "Like, three words. No punctuations, none of that. That's way beyond my level of expertise."

Saban was asked again about his texting habits:

"I answer texts — short," Saban said with a  ;) .

Alabama (11-1, 8-0 SEC) faces Georgia (12-0, 8-0) for the SEC championship at 3 p.m. Saturday at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

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jbcarol

First and 10: Oh, Georgia. You thought trying to 3-peat was hard. Just wait for what comes next ...
Matt Hayes



QuoteQuote to note
Alabama coach Nick Saban: "They're truly a team. Everybody's together. Everybody trusts and respects the principles and values of the organization and program and buy into them. They're all responsible for their own self-determination."
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jbcarol

Nick Saban claims cell number leaked, gets hundreds of hate calls after Alabama's CFP berth

Being older he answers each one, now that he has a mobile phone, has learned how to text



QuoteNick Saban on Sunday said his cell phone number was leaked, leading to hundreds of calls from anonymous callers upset over Alabama's College Football Playoff berth.

Rivals.com, which obtained a video of the comments, reports the Alabama coach told his players of the leak during the team's awards banquet.

"I've had probably over 250 anonymous callers today, calling me every name in the book, talking about how we shouldn't be in the playoff," Saban said, per the report. "So we still have naysayers out there. We still have players who don't believe in us.

"Most of these people are from Florida," Saban said, per the report. "I don't know how in the hell they got my number, but it is out there."

Get your tickets for the Rose Bowl here.
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jbcarol

Joel Klatt claims Nick Saban pulled a power move on Michigan
Kevin L. Smith |



QuoteSaban reportedly hired former Michigan linebackers coach George Helow. The move immediately caught Joel Klatt's eye, noting the significant power move that Saban made.

"That (move is) unbelievable," Klatt said...

Not only did Saban fill a coaching void that was left behind by Coleman Hutzler — who went on to become Mississippi State's new defensive coordinator — he made a move that Klatt said would do as well.

"By the way, if I'm Alabama and Nick Saban, this is absolutely what I'm doing," Klatt said.

Klatt noted that Helow will now be sitting in meetings and telling the Alabama "about everything that Michigan does," including the Wolverines' defense and how it was built, the team's philosophy, coaching dynamic and more.

"I'm going to get in trouble for saying this, but this is a lot better than having some grainy cell phone footage from across the field," Klatt said. "You get a coach that was in their building. It's like tell me about everything they do. You're our employee now."

Klatt said that when it comes down to it, Saban "continues to be the best."

"(Saban) leaves no stone unturned," Klatt said. "He is constantly thinking of ways to gain an advantage and continue, as he puts it, to provide value. This is brilliant. He's got the resources to do it."

No. 4 Alabama (12-1) is scheduled to square off against top-seeded Michigan (13-0) in the Rose Bowl game on New Year's Day.
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jbcarol

What took so long for Alabama to return to the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day?

By Creg Stephenson |




Quote2024 Rose Bowl technically takes place on New Year's Day.

Alabama makes its triumphant return to Pasadena on Jan. 1, meeting top-ranked Michigan in a game that doubles as a College Football Playoff semifinal. The Crimson Tide not only won a national title the last time it played in that hallowed 101-year-old stadium — a 37-21 victory over Texas in the BCS championship game in 2010 — but a not insignificant portion of the program's national reputation and prestige was built upon six trips to the Rose Bowl during the first half of the 20th century.

Alabama played in the Rose Bowl after the 1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1937 and 1945 seasons, winning four of those games and tying another. Four of the Crimson Tide's 18 claimed national championships came in years that ended in Rose Bowl victories, and the 1945 team finished undefeated, yet un-crowned.

A number of circumstances — some self-inflicted, some unavoidable — have conspired to keep Alabama out of the Rose Bowl game in Pasadena for 78 years. Yet the Crimson Tide is back

So why has it been so long since Alabama played in a true Rose Bowl game in Pasadena?

The first Rose Bowl game — college football's first postseason game — was played at Pasadena's Tournament Park in 1902, conceived as a way to help fund the Tournament of Roses Parade.

Teams such as USC, Stanford, Washington, Washington State, Oregon and California — who would form the backbone of the conference that would later become the Pac-8 — served as the regular "host" school for the Rose Bowl game. The Midwest-based Big Nine — stopped sending teams to Pasadena after Ohio State lost 28-0 to Cal in the 1921 game, citing concerns that the season was already too long and was having a deleterious effect on academics.

"Things were quite different back then," said Kent Stephens, historian with the College Football Hall of Fame. "University presidents really didn't like the idea of postseason play. They thought that having their students participate in football and traveling thousands of miles to play a college football game kind of sullied the academic reputation of the school. And so they really weren't wild about having these games. A lot of schools, once you get into the 1920s, did not participate in bowl games at all. Army, Navy, Notre Dame, the Ivy League teams, the Big Ten teams, they did not wish to participate in postseason play."

Big Nine (which became the Big Ten when Michigan State joined in 1949), got a new commissioner in 1945 in "Tug" Wilson, a former Northwestern athletics director who began advocating for his conference to return to the Rose Bowl in the post-war years.

Rose Bowl officials were receptive, Stephens said, in part because of tourism. People in midwestern states such as Illinois, Ohio and Michigan — where the B9 schools were located — were generally more affluent.

"They thought the people in the Midwest had more money to spend than the people in the South," Stephens said. "And they might actually agree to come and buy property out there and travel more. And so they were desirous of having the Big Nine teams come to Pasadena. So in the 1930s, they began wooing the Big Nine, but they turned them down."

In addition, television was coming into its own in the late 1940s. The Midwestern states had a much larger collective population than the Deep South, and thus many more eyeballs to watch televised events such as the Rose Bowl.

Southern schools get shut out
Early in the 1946 season, Rose Bowl officials proposed a five-year exclusive deal with the Big Nine and the Pacific Coast Conference, the progenitor of the Pac-8. Big Nine voted "no," and it appeared for a while as if unbeaten Army — which then featured two Heisman Trophy winners in halfback Glenn Davis and fullback Felix "Doc" Blanchard —

A second vote was held in November and this time the Big Nine agreed to send its champion to the Rose Bowl every year beginning with the Jan. 1, 1947, game.

Now it's Pac-2 - not even enough for a six-pac.
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jbcarol

O'Gara: Would Nick Saban walk off after a title? Why I'm not buying that ... yet



QuoteI always get a laugh out of the ESPN.com story that comes out every 6 months about Nick Saban feeling younger than ever. It feels like I can set my calendar to that Chris Low piece coming out at some point in the offseason, and it'll feature quotes from Saban that say something to the effect of "I've never felt younger."

If you can believe it, my humor has nothing to do with a 70-something coach saying that while navigating one of the most demanding jobs in America, nor does it have anything to do with Low's reporting, which is second to none.

My humor comes in the "why."

Why is it that the greatest coach in the history of the sport, who is 1 win from reaching his 10th national championship berth in the past 15 seasons, has to make it a point to remind the world that he plans to continue doing his job?

If you follow this sport closely, you know the answer. It's recruiting. The only negative recruiting one can do against Alabama is "well, Saban isn't getting any younger."
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jbcarol

Bama adds unprecedented film-study security because of 'what Michigan is known for'

By Michael Casagrande




QuoteMichigan sign-stealing scandal fallout's been a nationwide storyline during the 2023 college football season and its impact is being felt in the run up to the 2024 Rose Bowl.

Multiple Alabama football players confirmed the program changed the way it watches film in preparation for the Jan. 1 showdown with the No. 1 Wolverines in the Rose Bowl semifinal.

Players said they are not allowed to watch game film on their individual iPads, breaking with the normal routine before a game. Their explanation for the change was notable.

"You know, what Michigan is known for," Alabama running back Jase McClellan said.

"And they were like, I guess, like looking at other people's play calls like their hands signals."

--Bond, Isaiah Bond
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jbcarol

Goodman: Amid retirement talk, Nick Saban is at the top of his game



QuoteSometimes in life it's not the things people say that grab your attention. It's the thing they don't say that means most of all.

On Friday here in Los Angeles, Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele was asked what he thought about Nick Saban's future as the coach of Alabama. Steele is Saban's longtime friend and he was brought back to Alabama this season to manage a defense that had gotten a little too sloppy. When given a chance, Steele didn't say for certain that Saban was returning to Alabama. Instead, he said it's something that no one can know.

"It's always going to be out there," Steele said. "It's always going to be out there. I will tell you this: Nobody knows that answer except him."

And, so, not for the first time over these last few months, I found myself wondering if Alabama will be in the market for a new coach following the College Football Playoff.
Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

jbcarol

Bama football players explain what it's like to get chewed out by Nick Saban: 'A lot of cuss words'

By Ben Flanigan




QuoteGetting chewed out by Nick Saban may not seem like a teachable moment in real time, as hellfire is raining down on you for missing a block or running the wrong route. But by now, Alabama football players take it in stride whenever the legendary head coach gets hot:

Tyler Booker, offensive lineman
"I think I pancaked somebody when I wasn't supposed to," Booker said, recalling a specific incident before imitating Saban's voice. "When you're trying to keep everybody up, he's like, 'Why were you throwing people on the ground?!' It's kind of funny. Of course you take coach Saban seriously, but just to see that side of him getting mad. He was getting mad at me because I was having success. You know he's always going to be partial to the defense, so it was kind of funny. It's a great memory."

Jihaad Campbell, linebacker
"It's just all about being coachable," he said. "Because at the end of the day, it's a good thing that he curses you out and gets on your butt about something because that means that he cares a lot. For me, I feel as though he understands it makes me better as a person, because it makes me get back on my stuff and tighten up and do my job better." We asked for an impression of Saban. "'Come on, 30!'" Campbell said, referencing his jersey number before breaking out into laughter.

Justin Eboigbe, defensive lineman
"You've just got to take it," he said. "You've got to be coachable. It ain't gonna last long. You've just got to deal with it, accept it and try to make sure it don't happen again." We asked what it actually sounds like when Saban goes off. "I don't think you can sense what's being said if I tell you."

Kendrick Law, wide receiver/kick returner
"Most definitely. Every day," Law said when asked if he'd ever been chewed out by Saban. "It's just a coaching moment. It's something you need to take. You need to learn from it. Don't be disrespectful and adapt yourself to what he was saying and apply it to the field." When asked what it sounds like, Law put it bluntly: "A lot of cuss words."
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jbcarol

Terry Saban reveals Nick Saban didn't want to watch Texas-Washington after Michigan loss

By Mark Heim




QuoteSaban had no desire to watch the Sugar Bowl, the other College Football Playoff semifinal, after his Alabama Crimson Tide fell 27-20 in overtime to Michigan on Monday night.

Terry Saban revealed to USA TODAY after the Tide's Rose Bowl loss just what Nick Saban's viewing plans were going to be.

The Sabans were going to watch a Netflix movie rather than watching Texas play Washington in the second CFP semifinal game later that night.

After Nick Saban's press conference Monday night, Terry Saban spoke to her husband. She told USA TODAY what they discussed.

"Do you want to watch the other football game?'' Terry Saban asked.

"Not really," Nick Saban said.

Terry Saban replied, "OK, let's watch Netflix.''

Terry Saban explained she and Nick Saban have been watching a foreign film. "It's Turkish or something,'' she said, adding that having to read the subtitles would be helpful for her husband.

"It completely gets your mind off of (the defeat)," she said.

Terry Saban was asked is Nick Saban was doing OK after the loss.

"Fifty-two years of doing it, we've experienced it before, a'ight? And you try to find the silver lining to teach other players for the next time."
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jbcarol

Saban discusses retirement talk with Pat McAfee: 'I'm getting old, I guess'

By Mark Heim |




Quote72-year-old coach, fresh off an overtime 27-20, CFP semifinal loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl, made his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" Thursday and was asked it:

"Because, I'm getting old, I guess," Saban.

It's no secret the Alabama coach has taken issue with the evolving landscape of college football, whether it is NIL or the transfer portal. Still, Saban led his team to another SEC Championship, a CFP appearance and snapped two-time defending national champion Georgia's 29-game win streak.

"Look, I ask everybody who asks me that question, 'Are you going to be here for four years?" he said. "Some players ask me when I'm going to retire. I look at them and say, 'Can you guarantee me that you're going to be here for four years? They look at me like, 'Hell, no.' ...

"I just think it's the way of the world now."
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jbcarol

Scarblog: Is the sun setting on more than just the Rose Bowl?



QuoteAre you still stunned at what happened Monday in the Rose Bowl? Still plagued by questions the final score couldn't answer? Still wondering if we witnessed more than one sunset in the shadow of the San Gabriel Mountains?

What happened on the field was shocking enough. Second-half Alabama showed up to seize the day, only to give way to September Alabama. Michigan bowed up on the final play, conjuring memories of a long-ago Sugar Bowl, looking the Tide in the eye as if to say, "You'd better pass."

It took forever to play the final play in overtime. It will take longer for every nook and cranny of the dynasty to get over it and the finality of Michigan 27, Alabama 20. Fourth and 31 will smile on one crimson shoulder for eternity. Fourth and 3, its evil twin, will sneer from the other in agonizing perpetuity.

What happened next? Well, in Titletown, they might say, the GOAT's heart grew three sizes that day. Put another way, and put this on the tombstone if this was the dynasty's very last breath: Alabama couldn't snap, and Nick Saban didn't.

He certainly had the motive and the opportunity. As good as he looks and feels, he is now 72 years old and 17 seasons deep into his takeover of Alabama, the SEC and college football. He still owns the record of seven national championships as a head coach without peer, but only one of those has come in the last six years.

It's not a coincidence that during this relative dry spell, Saban watched some of his most accomplished lieutenants leave the nest. Three of them - Kirby Smart in an Orange Bowl muzzling of Florida State, Lane Kiffin in a Peach Bowl statement against Penn State and Steve Sarkisian in his own last-snap playoff heartbreaker -- led their teams to New Year's Six bowls.

Did Scarblog bury the lede :hmmm:
Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

jbcarol

Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

jbcarol

ESPN's Chris Low explains why Nick Saban decided to retire

by:
Griffin McVeigh




QuoteA new era of college football has officially begun, with Alabama head coach Nick Saban reportedly set to retire. ESPN's Chris Low broke the story on Wednesday afternoon, with the news coming just over a week after the Rose Bowl loss to Michigan.

Low joined the Paul Finebaum Show to explain exactly why Saban decided to retire. The message from Saban has been constant throughout — if he felt like he could not give Alabama 100% for 100% of the time, he would walk away. Saban was not going to be taking any shortcuts just because of who he was.

"When you're 72 years old, 14-hour days are a lot different than when you're 60 or 62," Low said. "It's just the way it is. Nick is one of those guys where he could only do it one way. He's never going to scale back and bring somebody else in to help him. He knows one way to coach football.

"I feel like he's gotten to the point where he gave it everything he could as a head football coach to make Alabama a championship contender every year. And this was the right time and the right place for him in his life and his family to walk away.

"There was no way he was ever going to do a victory tour, like we've seen some coaches do" Low said. "He was going to decide, talk to his family, and then he was going to be done. That is what happened today."
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jbcarol

Nick Saban cited age, health concerns when informing players of retirement

by:
Nick S




QuoteIf the news of Nick Saban's decision to retire came as a shock, that's because it seemed like a normal day. The Alabama head coach was conducting interviews for open staff positions Wednesday morning ahead of a mandatory team meeting, which was already scheduled.

That's when Saban informed his players of his decision to retire, citing his age and health concerns, BOL's Charlie Potter confirmed.

Saban, 72, faced questions throughout the season about the idea of retirement. He repeatedly talked about how much fun he had coaching this year's team, which rallied to go 12-2, and didn't seem to indicate he was nearing the end of the line.

His most recent question came from Pat McAfee last week. When asked about people questioning how much he has left in the tank, Saban said it must be because he's "old" before pointing out he gets questions from recruits, as well.

"Look, I ask everybody that asks me that question, 'Are you going to be here for four years?'" Saban said. "Some players ask me when you're going to retire, I've looked at them and say, 'Well can you guarantee me that you're going to be here for four years?' and they looked at me like 'Hell no I'm not.'"

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jbcarol

Aaron Murray shares time Nick Saban hustled him: 'I fell for it'

By Mark Heim




QuoteIn 2012, on Lake Burton, Murray - then the quarterback for the Bulldogs - was riding around on a jet ski on the same lake the former Alabama football coach has a house. He and a buddy decide to head that way to see if Saban was around. Sure enough, he was in his backyard.

Saban, who was roughly 60 at the time, asked how Murray and the Bulldogs were doing.

"We look pretty good, man," Murray recalled to the Saturday Down South podcast. "Got a good team. Got this kid names Jarvis Jones who terrorizes me at practice every day. He's going to get to play. Excited to see what he looks like. All these pieces, like we think like the East, we have a chance to win the East."

Murray admits, in hindsight, he probably gave up just a little too much information to the Alabama coach.

The savvy quarterback then re-directed the question back at Saban.

Murray recalled Saban saying we have "lots of questions still. A lot of youth. A lot of positions we're unsure of. Position battles will be interesting in fall camp.

"He was like, 'Honestly, guys, I'm gonna be real. I just don't think it's our year."

Fast forward to the end of the season, and Alabama beats Georgia for the SEC championship and advances to the national championship game.

"So he hustled me," Murray said. "Nick Saban hustled me back in 2012 at Lake Burton. Unbelievable. I fell for it."
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jbcarol

Milroe details why he wants to be coached hard at Alabama

by:
Dan Morrison




QuoteMilroe made it clear that he's staying at Alabama amid the coaching change and, during the Alabama-Auburn basketball game on Wednesday night, explained that he wants to get coached hard while at Alabama.

"No doubt, no doubt," Jalen Milroe said. "I want to get the best out of me, you know what I'm saying? And I think the biggest thing is to always be a sponge for all information. And then the biggest thing also is that the coaches want the best out of you. You know, their job is to coach us but also get the best out of each player that they can and so, with them being a coach at heart, they see something in you."

DeBoer dishes about how Alabama players have reacted to explosive Washington offense

"You talk about [Milroe], you talk about the receiving core, and these guys are fired up about getting those opportunities within this offense. Dillon Johnson was the leading rusher in the Pac-12, and so all the skill guys, they're fired up and ready to learn the system and continue to grow."
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jbcarol

Saban waits 30 minutes for table at a Florida restaurant? 'He's enjoying retirement'  :hmmm: 



Quote"I live in a small town down in South Florida near Jupiter and, no lie, last week I was out to dinner with my wife, and Coach Saban came in the restaurant," Matt McCall said.

"And he waited 30 minutes on a table. And he was smiling. He's enjoying retirement. He was enjoying retirement, I can promise you that."

Saban appears to be getting settled into his $17.5 million, 6,200-square foot house on Jupiter Island, purchased last year. The Tuscan-style mansion measures 11,200 square feet and offers six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

Built in 1992, the house was renovated in 2016 and includes six bedrooms, marble floors, a floating staircase, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls. It comes with a 40,000-pound boat lift.

1.68-acre estate is among many on Jupiter Island, which is also home to Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Greg Norman and singer Celine Dion.

The retirement home recently popped up on a list of the top 10 largest property moves made by sports figures in 2023.

"Listen, this transfer portal - I think he was - he's definitely got enough money to retire nicely down there," Nate Oats said. "He's got a nice spot down there."
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jbcarol

Video of Saban wiping out posted by daughter

Andrew Graham with Kristen Saban




QuoteThe jokes about Nick Saban getting rolled by the tide more or less wrote themselves after his daughter shared a video of the then-Alabama head coach boogie boarding


Kristen Saban Setas
@kristensabanset
You're welcome
Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

jbcarol

Coach Saban living it up in retirement

Derek Peterson | 40 minutes ago




QuoteThe former Alabama head coach spent his Monday golfing with 10-time Grammy-nominated artist Travis Scott and Grammy-winner 50 Cent. Saban was one of a number of celebrities who turned out for the "Mr. October Celebrity Golf Classic" in Palm City.

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jbcarol

Goodman: Nick Saban is the goat face of an old scam



QuoteSaban went to Washington this week to lobby Congress about college football. He's a big name and that always helps inside the Beltway.

Saban and his friends want to "save" college football from destroying itself, or at least that's what the people who stand to lose the most money amid the sport's current reckoning want everyone to believe.

Something tells me that running back Quinshon Judkins and safety Caleb Downs might have different perspectives.

I'd love to hear their testimonies about this last year.

Oh, and Ohio State's boosters paid those players a lot of money to do it, of course. Judkins and Downs can play immediately next season thanks to rules written by the NCAA.

Coaches are always saying that the players these days act entitled. I'd prefer to think that the players are finally beginning to make money and understand what they're actually worth. Saban made over $11 million last season. His salary kept going up and up through the years because that's what the free-market system dictated. Shouldn't the players have those same opportunities to maximize their brief financial window of opportunity?

No one knows the future of college football, but I know for a fact that the old days are gone and they're not coming back. Saban knew it, too.

He told members of Congress that he retired in part because his players wanted to know how much money they were getting paid and how much playing time they were going to receive. ... Saban's powerful grip on college football was slipping and he could feel it. He's now joining ESPN College GameDay for millions and could end up making more money than when he was a coach.

I give Saban a lot of credit for trying to help, but who is he really trying to help? He seems to genuinely care about the future of the sport that made him rich and powerful.

Saban told the politicians that the players are only in it for the money and not the right reasons. That made me laugh.

Like Saban, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze is using similar language about the evolution of modern-day college football players. Freeze calls it the "disease of me." I give players more credit than that. People can enjoy being part of a team while still getting paid for their work. That's every company in the country, or at least the good ones. This is the system that college football created and players are just adapting to the times. Maybe Freeze needs to adapt his coaching, too. I'm sure he will...

It's cronyism. Saban, Freeze and Kiffin have inflated salaries because the athletes playing the sport were never paid. Those coaches all have the same sports agent, and Jimmy Sexton has benefited more than anyone from college football's sham-ateurism.

Greed, and not the altruistic idea of saving college football, is the motivating factor behind everything.

Their scam is an old hustle, but it looks like they have a new (old) face to pull it off.
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jbcarol

Goodman's Mailbag: Go sit down, Nick Saban


QuotePeople have had a lot to say about Nick Saban's visit to Washington. Here's my column on Saban's efforts to lobby Congress. I received dozens and dozens of emails in response. Instead of responding to every email, I've decided to just let readers speak for themselves. I've selected the emails that represent both sides of the debate. Many of the perspectives were reasoned and compelling. Some, as you might have guessed, ...

For a guy who just retired, he's still hanging around. Take a load off Nick. You and your coaching colleagues built this model. Stop complaining. There are bigger issues in this nation.


To the argument that players can't be paid because they need money to finance non-revenue producing sports. To begin with, that is not the football player's responsibility to finance the tennis team. Tell a player that as he goes into surgery. Why didn't we tell Saban that to finance scholarships for non-revenue teams he would have to work for $7 million instead of $12.


Chris Leak writes ...

Mine came out of the cauldron with a master's degree and a solid future in a career that she will be able to support herself with for the rest of her life. It was a two-way bargain and she and her university both did their best by each other. Apparently that is not good enough any more.

She also paid the price. Back surgery. Shredded ankle and two more surgeries. Her roomies totaled four knee surgeries and a shredded shoulder. I've always thought the two things universities should very much provide are full scholarships and lifetime "Cadillac" medical insurance coverage to those that "pay the price" and stay the course. Those two things should absolutely be a part of the bargain. PS: Somehow, I am reminded of what Wimp Sanderson once replied to a journalist attempting to ask a gotcha question, "How many of your players graduate?" His simple and correct reply? "All that want to..."



I enjoyed your article, buddy, but I also agree with Nicholas Lou Saban about him not wanting to see a modern day "caste system" forming in NCAA football with say the QB having a gargantuan NIL deal but the O-Lineman is making like 15 percent of what the "star" player is getting.

I'm Generation X and I am extremely happy that the kids are getting openly compensated now. I just do not want them getting jealous of each other with that green-eyed monster.



In the medium term, does the University of Alabama or Auburn University really have a chance competing to pay players?
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jbcarol

Miss Terry reveals few of Nick Saban's Ten Commandments of Retirement

By Mark Heim |



QuoteThe former Alabama coach makes it clear he isn't retired. He just quit working. Despite the claim, ESPN's took an in-depth look into the 72-year-old former coach's transition away from football.

Saban told ESPN the day after he retired, Miss Terry left him a note known as the Ten Commandments of Retirement.

The eating commandment
One of the more pressing commandments was the idea that Saban wait for Miss Terry to sit down at the dinner table. He should also slow down when eating. In an extra bonus, she said it was polite to leave something on his plate when eating out.

"So at our first dinner at home, he brought his plate to me with half a pickle on it and said, 'To be polite!'"

The couch commandment
There is a gesture Miss Terry would like to see extended to her when they are lounging on the couch. In the past, when she got herself a blanket, Miss Terry always grabbed one for Saban.

"Now, I'd appreciate the same courtesy," she wrote, per ESPN.

In the story, it was revealed Saban doesn't stare at the TV all day. He has plenty to do, but he has enjoyed "Game of Thrones."

The Tech 101 commandment
Saban has been notorious over the years for his disinterest in technology.

However, Miss Terry has started teaching him the way of the cell phone, something dubbed "Tech 101″ class.

"He's actually texting and reading his own emails and sent his first-ever email."
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